Joshua Rutsky wrote:Thanks for doing this. Always interesting to see these and how they turn out. My only comment: I have to assume James Clemens was left off because they haven't been out of state, but they have been neck and neck with us all year, and are absolutely one of the top three teams in Alabama.

Correction: apparently only Georgia teams were balloted for this. The two Alabama teams that qualified did so because they've attended Georgia tournaments. Rishik is currently conducting an Alabama ballot, and Tracy Mirkin will conduct a separate Florida poll. If you're an interested quizbowler in Alabama, I encourage you to contact him or me by PM, as my impression is that we're both on this forum fairly regularly.

Jakob Myers
MSU '21, Naperville North '17"No one has ever organized a greater effort to get people interested in pretending to play quiz bowl"
-Ankit Aggarwal
Member, PACE
Memerator

Would anybody be interested in a tournament at Fairview on April 8? Now I get that it's THE DAY AFTER ASCA State but that was the only date that didn't have a major conflict with AP Study Sessions or the Alabama state quizbowl calendar. I can't confidently say that this is happening but there is a much better chance than previously.

Brett Hogan
Wallace State Community College '18 (transfer)
University of Alabama in Huntsville '21

national rankings are out again. Hoover is #36, James Clemens #59. I might've missed someone scanning through the list, but I think those were to only 2 Alabama teams. Barring some upsets, I think those 2 will face off for the state title in April. I believe both teams could make the playoffs at naqt nationals and win some games. At Buckhorn's tournament a couple of weeks ago, Hoover didn't have much trouble with Springwood or Altamont, but I'm curious to see how Altamont beat Springwood in the prelims. Also, congrats to small school winner East Lawrence, JV winner Sylacauga, and middle school winner Baldwin Arts.

Sean Moran
Hoover High School Quiz Bowl player (2009-2013)
Hoover High School Assistant coach (2013-present)
Birmingham-Southern College Class of 2017

West Point cleared the field in pool A going 5-0 and the runner-up was Russellville at 4-1.

Arab mopped the floor with Pool B at 5-0. Fairview finished as the runners-up at 3-2 with a last-question upset of East Lawrence. Both teams had a record of 3-2 (Fairview had a pathetic and embarrassing loss to Brooks in the last round while Arab beat East Lawrence). East Lawrence will almost definitely have a wildcard bid to state though.

Brett Hogan
Wallace State Community College '18 (transfer)
University of Alabama in Huntsville '21

Springwood won the AISA tournament over Bayside 465-215 and finished with a tournament ppg of 507.5 ppg. This qualifies us for ASCA state. I'm not sure if ASCA takes the top 2 AISA teams but if they do Bayside also qualified for ASCA state.

I figured I would make a top teams list, because why not. I haven't been able to play many of these teams, so a lot of this is coming from speculation/stats.

1) Hoover - Although they have took a few losses to James Clemens, I have to lean toward the more balanced team.
2) James Clemens - Have been dominating for most of the season.
3) Buckhorn - Very high ppg at regionals in a very competitive pool.
4) Spain Park - From the one game I played against them, they seem to be very fast. Most worksheet points and overall pretty impressive stats and well rounded team.
5) Springwood - Very good placings at tournaments this season.
6) Sylacauga - Seem to be balanced in subject matter and performing great.
7) Dothan - Have improved a ton this year, multiple close games against Springwood and LAMP.
8) Vestavia Hills - Pulled out a surprising win against Spain Park and have had impressive stats.
9) LAMP - Seemed to have done quite well at every tournament they have attended.
10) Indian Springs - Also pulled out a close win against Spain Park, very good PPB.
11) Grissom - Did very well in a very competitive pool at regionals.
12) West Point - Very hard to base how well they are, they could easily be way higher up. Dominated their pool at regionals.

Match-ups with many of these teams could go any way out of this order depending on the packet, but I think Alabama is quite competitive.

I don't know if I'm remembering last year incorrectly, but these pools look like they will be very difficult. Should make for a fun and competitive tournament.

Also, to Jared, it's nice to see how people from all over our state are so involved in quizbowl. Our circuit is definitely improving rapidly, and I'm really anxious for this year's state tournament. Just one comment on your rankings: I think West Point should be ranked much higher. I know it's hard to judge teams without playing them, but they are the only team other than us to beat Hoover this year in state.

Hope to meet all of you at the state tournament this year! I'm excited!

Sharath Narayan
Liberty Middle School (2012-2014)
James Clemens High School (2014-2018)

I agree with Sharath; West Point deserves to be much higher up there. From experience playing them, they are extremely well-balanced in various subject areas and they even broke the ASCA record for points scored in a single game this year.

EDIT: We at Fairview were extremely excited to even make it to state. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

Brett Hogan
Wallace State Community College '18 (transfer)
University of Alabama in Huntsville '21

There is certainly interest. The question is whether there is a coach to work with this. I handled it last year, and I am looking into whether I can do so again this year. It really depends on my schedule. If there is another Alabama coach interested in coordinating this team, I would be happy to provide advice/help as well.

Joshua Rutsky
Coach, Hoover High School, Hoover, AL
Member of the Qwiz Team!

We had a great tournament, as always, at CCA yesterday. Thanks to the Sheldons once again for putting it all on. There weren't a whole lot of teams there but it was good practice for ASCA State for Fairview and Russellville. Top teams were:

1. Itawamba (6-1, lost to Fairview)
2. Russellville (6-1, lost to Itawamba)
3. Fairview (5-2, lost to Russellville and East Limestone)

Brett Hogan
Wallace State Community College '18 (transfer)
University of Alabama in Huntsville '21

James Clemens beats Spain Park 310-305 on the last question of Game 3 of the best of 3 finals to win the ASCA State Tournament. The first match went to Spain Park on a tiebreaker, the second to James Clemens on the last question.

Slade Gilmer, 2004 Graduate of THE Russellville High School, 2009 Graduate of THE University of North Alabama

DISCLAIMER: The list below is purely my opinion, total speculation, and probably should never be read by anyone anywhere for any purpose. You have been warned.

RANKING / PREVIOUS - TEAM - WHY?

1 / 1 - James Clemens - Winners of the ASCA State Championship, 1st@SMART II, WP, and Good Hope; 3rd at HIT; Sharath. The key to this team's success at state was not only some clutch play but also the increasing ability of the entire team to get critical toss-ups. That edge helped them sneak past Spain Park in the final, and gives them significant upside for next year if any of Sharath's teammates are returning with him. (I don't know grade levels, unfortunately.)

2 / 1 (T) - Hoover - 3rd place in the ASCA State Championship, 1st place at WIT, 1st WRK, Mt. Carmel; 2nd at CATT, WP, and Good Hope. Hoover has an incredible team this year, and unquestionably belong near the top of this list, but they lost head-to-head in the semifinals to James Clemens. Yes, it was a single match, and yes, it's hard to judge based on that--JC needed 3 games to beat Spain Park, and Hoover hasn't lost to SP all year. It doesn't matter. Until you prove otherwise, JC > Hoover.

3 /6 - Spain Park - 2nd Place at ASCA State, 3rd at SMART II; Top 5 at HIT; L to James Clemens and Springwood. Top 4 at LAMP and Good Hope. Spain Park was the surprise team at ASCA State, running through the preliminaries and beating good teams in the playoff rounds. You might argue they had an easier path to the finals, but that would be ignoring that they won the first game of that final against James Clemens, led the 2nd at tossup 18, and lost the third by five points. That's not luck. That's talent. Grady and Jack really stepped up for SP this week.

4/5 West Point - 4th Place at ASCA State. 7th at HIT; 3rd at WRK. Shorthanded at WP but finished 6th. Fifth place at Good Hope. Has anyone figured out West Point yet? This is a team that is streaky, capable of upsetting a top team but just as capable of falling to a weaker squad in a moment of poor play. Confidence is not lacking with the Parker twins, but depth is still an issue. I'd say that they would be a top two team for sure next year if both Hoover and James Clemens weren't returning their starters. As it is, they can be serious contenders with summer work.

5/3 Springwood - Quarterfinals at State, Quarterfinals at CATT; Top 5 at HIT; 1st @ Enterprise and LAMP; 3rd @ Good Hope. Venu gave it a run in his final ASCA state tournament; he has been a machine for Springwood since arriving on the scene 4 years ago. I don't know how they can replace him next year, but they still have nationals and a couple of state events to make a final mark.

6/ 7 - Sylacauga - Quarterfinals at ASCA State; 6th at HIT; Semifinals at LAMP. What happens when Will Hughes has another summer to practice?

7/NR - Indian Springs - Quarterfinals at ASCA State; 2nd place at LAMP invitational. Indian Springs has improved dramatically this year, and they seemed to actually want to play scholars bowl again. They have a new coach, but if they sustain interest, I expect to see them in the thick of things once again soon.

8/ NR - St. Paul's - Quarterfinals at ASCA State; 2nd at Aggie Academic Challenge. St. Paul's didn't benefit from an easy pool to make the playoffs. They lost to Springwood, but won against Buckhorn, Sparkman, Russellville and Vestavia Hills to advance. While they fell in the quarters to Hoover, they earned a spot here. Top scorer Daniel Lane is a senior, however....

9/4 Buckhorn - Did not make playoffs at State. Buckhorn started the season looking like one of the teams to beat in state, but they struggled during the year with youth issues and a lack of opportunities to compete against top teams. Don't take anything away from Matt Dean and his teammates; all of them got much better over the summer, and will continue to improve. They just had a tough State draw in a pool with Springwood, Vestavia, St. Paul's, Sparkman, and Russellville.

10 / 9 - LAMP - This spot could have gone to LAMP, Dothan, or Grissom, really, but I'm giving the nod to LAMP for two reasons. First, their losses at state both came to playoff teams -- Indian Springs and Hoover. Second, they have more experience than the other teams, and are better tested at this point. They'll win some matches at Nationals.

OTHER TEAMS WORTH NOTE: Grissom (upset James Clemens in preliminaries), Dothan (winners of the 6A title), Vestavia Hills (up and coming team with young players; their leading scorer, Walter Zhang, is a sophomore.)

Joshua Rutsky
Coach, Hoover High School, Hoover, AL
Member of the Qwiz Team!

I would like to give a thanks to Rutsky for the honorable mention, and say that I had an awesome time at the state tournament. Everything ran very smoothly, so big thanks to everyone who helped run the tournament. As for Dothan, we had many close matches, beating Gadsden City by 5, losing to Sylacauga by 5 after making many mistakes, and also playing Spain Park pretty close before winning our 6A playoff against Southside. I wish we could have had the chance to play more matches and see how we go up against some of the other teams we haven't been able to play, but it is what it is.

Springwood will be in an interesting position next year. We will return everyone except for me next year and will have three experienced seniors and a young nucleus of current freshman who want to get better and are willing to study. We will probably be moderately competitive and will hopefully still attend tournaments throughout the year. Also, our school enrollment will be going up from 115ish in 9-12 to about 170 next year so hopefully some of the new students can contribute.

We will return 3 of our 4 starters next year. And, we will have Billy Ellis returning, as well. Billy was an A-team starter LAST year, got moved to B-team captain this year, and SHOULD return to the A-team next year as a Senior. Austin Frederick - our only Senior on the A-team - only started during his junior year. He noticed the team's biggest weaknesses, focused on filling in those knowledge gaps, and made himself indispensable to the A-team. He should be looked at as a prime example of how to carve oneself a place on an established A-team.

The state tournament was weird. We were threading the needle all day, barely escaping elimination in the prelims (we had to beat the team that beat James Clemens), and then barely holding on to a big lead over Springwood. The last time we had played Venu, we lost 450-95, so we went into that Springwood match with something to prove.

This is my 5th year at West Point and somehow we've managed to do a little better each year. I thought this may be a rebuilding year after losing Zakk and Ross to graduation, but somehow these kids managed to get further into the ASCA Finals than any team in West Point history. I'm proud of what they've accomplished and I can't wait to see what we can do at SSNCT and HSNCT this year.

Congrats to all teams at state - especially the winners, Top 4, and all classification champions.

Lee Henry
AP English Teacher
Quiz Bowl Coach
West Point High School
Cullman, AL

I have reached out to three other coaches that I think could do a good job with this. I have heard back from one with a maybe, one with an "I have to check my schedule", and nothing from the third.

Until we have someone willing to take on coaching, we aren't in a position to set up tryouts.

Personally, I think that you could very easily assemble a NASAT team from our state. Obviously, you would want to have Sharath on that squad, and you would likely want to invite Joseph Jun (art and music, plus a lot of history), Grady Freeman from Spain Park (History), Andy Kong (Science), and some generalists like Jared Stinson or Will Hughes. West Point has some good players who could fit as well. You would need someone who can do deep organic chemistry, because that was a big deal last year. I'm not listing everyone who could contribute here, because I think that the first thing I'd do if I was running this would be to contact the playoff schools from this year's State tourney, and ask them to name their best two or three players and their specialties. I'd start picking from that list. I'd do all of those things if I was coaching, or if I was a student who wanted to start organizing a team that can represent the state before a "coach" was found and secured. I'd also do those things pretty quickly, because things are going to start getting crazy in about two weeks when AP work begins.

Joshua Rutsky
Coach, Hoover High School, Hoover, AL
Member of the Qwiz Team!

Everyone interested, please e-mail me at thenry@ccboe.org with "NASAT" in the subject line. Once I see how much interest there is, we will decide the best method of team selection. ASCA will pay entry for one team. If there is enough for a "B" team, we may have to have players contribute to offset that cost. I also believe that players will be responsible for their own lodging and transportation.

This is all very preliminary. I literally just decided to do this in the last couple of minutes. So, please bear with me as I navigate this responsibility.

Thanks. I'm looking forward to it!

Lee Henry
AP English Teacher
Quiz Bowl Coach
West Point High School
Cullman, AL

I know this has only been said about a hundred times, but I'd like to reiterate it on the forum-

I'd like to extend congratulations to not only West Point for a great finish at SSNCT this weekend (8TH!!!), but also to East Lawrence, Good Hope, Ashville, and any other Alabama teams I am missing for being road warriors and making the drive to Rosemont to represent the great state of quizbowl that is Alabama.

I wish I could say the same for my team.

Brett Hogan
Wallace State Community College '18 (transfer)
University of Alabama in Huntsville '21

Nationals is almost here! With that comes another player poll. https://goo.gl/forms/jaASKxzLW7L6CDkc2 Please rank teams in the region and not just the state so these results will be actually useful when they are compiled later.

Thanks once again to Mr Henry for hosting another awesome tournament at West Point this weekend, my team had a blast competing. Best of luck to everyone competing at nats in a couple of weeks. I think Alabama teams have enjoyed another highly successful season to say the least.

Brett Hogan
Wallace State Community College '18 (transfer)
University of Alabama in Huntsville '21

Dothan ends our season finishing top 4 at the TV Scholars Bowl tournament, losing to James Clemens by 40. Although they will be losing me, the top scorer, 3/4 of our A team are Juniors who will be returning next year and I am sure Dothan will be competitive next year. I am very thankful for all the fun I have had at competitions this year, and I plan on playing next year for Auburn. Good luck to everyone attending Nationals, and I can't wait to represent Alabama at NASAT!

jjjjjared wrote:Dothan ends our season finishing top 4 at the TV Scholars Bowl tournament, losing to James Clemens by 40. Although they will be losing me, the top scorer, 3/4 of our A team are Juniors who will be returning next year and I am sure Dothan will be competitive next year. I am very thankful for all the fun I have had at competitions this year, and I plan on playing next year for Auburn. Good luck to everyone attending Nationals, and I can't wait to represent Alabama at NASAT!

Just curious... but are you SUPPOSED to give away information about how the show played out?

Spoiler alert!

Lee Henry
AP English Teacher
Quiz Bowl Coach
West Point High School
Cullman, AL